Monday, September 30, 2013

The Diocesan Synod for the Dioceses of Meath & Kildare took place
on Saturday 28 September.

The Archbishop of Dublin, The Most Revd Dr
Michael Jackson, gave the following Presidential Address::‘…Heritage and Response …’Wilson’s Hospital School, in the heart of the Diocese of Meath,
welcomes us today as we come from right across the United Dioceses of
Meath and Kildare not simply to attend, but to be the Diocesan Synod. We
congratulate Wilson’s Hospital – its Warden, staff and pupils – on the
recent official opening of The Preston Extension. This part of the
school bears testimony to the coming together of two schools in these
dioceses for the education of children, irrespective of personal
affiliation or religious belonging, in a state of the art modern school,
proud of both heritages of schooling, where the Anglican tradition is
unashamedly woven into the ethos which forms the daily life of the
school itself.

Preston School, as you all know, was in Navan. As
today’s Wilson’s shows us, coming together in this confident way
undoubtedly brings tangible benefits and dividends in the present for
the future. The benefits are before us, for all of us to see and to
enjoy. If this were not a church context, I might even dare to call it:
amalgamation! All you need to do is to look around. This level of
accommodation and practical provision enables a much greater number of
people to be in the same place, doing the same things with confidence
and flourishing as individuals. This, in large part, comes about through
a deeply felt willingness on the part of those who carry responsibility
for the school to co–operate with those who make educational decisions
at national level as part of their public duty and service.

And
so, as the future comes to meet us, we meet it here, in these superb
facilities, without fear and we find ourselves open to the new
opportunities and possibilities which the future gives. And so I am
forced to ask: Why is the church so reluctant to take this leap of faith
if a school which has been nurturing the lives of young people over a
quarter of a millennium has the integrity and the imagination to do so?
And I am, regrettably, lost for an answer. You I suspect will offer me
the following range of possibilities: lack of adventure; aren’t we
better off with what we have; loss of status; collapse of numbers;
on–going sectarianism; social exclusivity; discipleship without
confidence; it will do us for our day …. and many others. We are left
watching ourselves standing still. This is not an enviable position in
which to be.

DIOCESE: PEOPLE, PRIESTS AND BISHOP

A number
of components come together in the formation, nurturing and sustaining
of a diocese. At its most basic, a diocese is a group of people, priests
and bishop all of whom share a common discipleship, ministry and life;
the test and the proof of this are to be found in the ways in which
these people relate to and care for the community beyond them, even more
than they do so for the people who form their own community.
Christianity is designed to be outward–looking and outward–moving. And
so identity finds its compass points in those who are the neighbour and
the stranger, every bit as much as they do in those who are the existing
members, young and old. The outside and the inside bounce off one
another. It is this relationship of elasticity and of bounce which keeps
a religious community alive and compassionate, creative and active in
all of its thinking, planning, praying and doing. This is the pivotal
relationship through God between the church and the world.

There
is another and perhaps even more obvious way in which this
understanding of a diocese works. It has to do with the relationship
between the individual and the community and therefore with the ways in
which this very relationship is enhanced by the need to give and the
need to receive. Viewed from this perspective, we are perhaps reminded
of the vivid and visual words with which archbishop Robert Runcie began
the 1988 Lambeth Conference: an arch is the strength of two weaknesses
coming together. By this he meant that the two sides of the arch could
not stand upright without needing and having each other. Viewed from
another perspective, we are the stronger for the combination of the
gifts and talents which a shared spiritual life brings – and were it not
for our needs, that life might never have come to bear fruit– but it
has, and it will continue to do so.

ARCHBISHOP CLARKE

I am
sure that you would wish to pay tribute to archbishop Richard Clarke in
and through this Diocesan Synod. He was bishop of these Dioceses for
sixteen years, during a period where a significant sense of solidarity
was built up within them. Leaving a diocese, even if it is followed
swiftly by arriving in another diocese, is difficult and painful as well
as offering time for remembering and reflecting. Many in this brace of
dioceses have been touched personally by the ministry which Richard
exercized here. Today is your first Diocesan Synod without him in the
chair as President for a very long time. We all continue to wish him
what is best in his new diocese and his responsibilities locally,
nationally and internationally.

The Electoral College for Meath
and Kildare met twice in 2013. Following the outcome of such successive
Meetings, the decision passed to the Bishops and, as we know, the
Reverend Patricia Storey has been appointed bishop of Meath and Kildare.
I know that you will welcome Pat as your bishop and I myself look
forward to the Service of Ordination in Christ Church Cathedral Dublin.
Between the two Meetings of the Electoral College and the Election by
the bishops, there was an important event, indeed the first of its kind,
in St Brigid’s Cathedral, Kildare and I shall speak of it later in more
detail. I have always thought that this cathedral church of St Brigid
is a colossal resource to these United Dioceses, ever since the time
when the road from Cork took me right past it en route to Dublin. But as
the years have moved on and as I have sought to keep pace with them, I
have been more and more impressed by the missional courage of this
cathedral and what it stands for.

It has the patronage of an
Irish woman and is proud of it; it grapples with the overlap of
spiritual and secular power and authority as we today must continue to
do so; it goes even deeper than this because it witnesses to the
Christian conviction that we must be where paganism and Christianity
meet, however painful, creative or honest this exchange may be. Again,
this is a very contemporary challenge which is not to be confined or
committed to the dreamy mists of a Celtic dawn. Today there is no scope
in Christian witness for the all–too–familiar and all–too–attractive
brick wall of self–pity whereby sentimentality masquerades as tradition;
whereby containment masquerades as identity; whereby sectarianism,
however well–dressed and well–manicured, masquerades as witness; all of
these paganisms within the church of today corrupt and distort the
in–breaking of the Kingdom of God.

Like me, ladies and gentlemen
Members of Synod, you will discern that it is church people who far too
often trumpet what is the negative side of what I outlined above and
who all too often enjoy it. We are called to more principled action, to
more generous thoughts and to more welcoming hearts as children of God
and as disciples of Jesus Christ than this. The life of any diocese is
in the hands of its people, whether they be lay or ordained, every bit
as much as it is in the hands of its bishop. The bishop depends on the
honesty and the loyalty to God and the church of the people of the
communities of the diocese. And the people depend on the ministry of
compassion and healing, of teaching and of decision–making of the bishop
in turn.

But I should like to bring you back to the
evening of Tuesday, September 3rd and to St Brigid’s Cathedral. More
than fifty people from the United Dioceses gathered to talk through –
argumentatively, biblically, prayerfully – matters and concerns which
they carried on their heart about events surrounding the two meetings of
the Electoral College for these Dioceses which had taken place. I am
indebted to The Reverend Dr David Tuohy SJ for facilitating that
memorable evening; I am indebted also to the many people who came and
participated in the evening, truthfully and hopefully. Many, many good
things were said and it was in fact a first for the Church of Ireland to
do this. Again, my hope and prayer would be that together with your
new bishop you will all now flourish under God and develop fresh
initiatives of outreach, creative friendships across the community and
an ever–deepening relationship with God and neighbour.

PRESENT INHERITANCE

It
would indeed be remiss of me not to draw proper attention to the
initiatives for good which are now woven into the diocesan life of Meath
and Kildare. At a time when much of the rest of the Anglican Communion
was, in the opinion of many, over–exercizing itself about homosexuality
and then human sexuality, in 1998, following a request which issued from
The Lambeth Conference, Meath and Kildare was one of the first dioceses
to give 0.7% of annual income towards the eradication of world debt.
The United Dioceses have sought to grapple creatively and positively
with ideas which have flowed from the Church of Ireland’s Commission on
Ministry, through the development and implementation of a lay training
programme which seeks to match personal gifts and diocesan needs. Out of
this has come a range of ministries for and by lay people – listening,
communication and facilitation; liturgical assistants; administration
and pastoral studies. All of this reinforces the point I sought to make
earlier: the priority of discipleship and service over clericalism and
excessive dominance in the expression of ministry.

The former
bishop’s interest in and commitment to the Community of Sant’Egidio has
clearly been taken up in the DREAM Programme in Malawi, in which
courageous and compassionate attempts are made to lessen the impact of
HIV infection. There is also a parallel Project in Umbombo Children’s
Care Village, South Africa which sponsors a programme for food and a
specialized diet for children with AIDS. Another initiative is the
Farming Project in Haiti promoting self–sufficiency among Haitian
farmers, not least after the earthquake. Together with this, the
Dioceses consciously encourage youth work at both parochial and diocesan
level. These initiatives have been sustained and enhanced over the
period since archbishop Clarke left Meath and Kildare for Armagh.

FUTURE VISION

I am sure that I am not alone here in
visiting and enjoying Kildare Village. It is not a secret kept and
preserved by and for the Dioceses of Meath and Kildare! You may,
however, not think that it has much theological significance or
importance. However I leave you with this thought. You can find it the
point where you take your leave of Kildare Village and make your way
into town, passing the ruins of Grey Abbey, the House of the Franciscan
Grey Friars.

On a display board there is the following quotation from
the Kildare Poems of the fourteenth century, easily missed but it goes
like this:

Always remember in your heart these three things:Whence you comeWho you are

What is to become of you.

In
the context of our Diocesan Synod today it comes across to me first and
foremost as an invitation to be courageous and hopeful. We all have a
personal history and we long and yearn to be proud of it. We all have
personal individuality and we long and yearn for this to be nurtured,
challenged and stretched. We all have a future, and for us as members of
the church and disciples of Jesus it is a shared way of life with God
and with our neighbour. Of course, it involves our being worldly–wise;
of course, it involves our arguing the toss and not taking: No! for an
answer when we should not do so. Christianity is a life within a life,
not a life without a life. And it is also a life beyond life as we
currently know life. But it calls us forward to witness to things and to
decisions which are for the good of others before they are for
ourselves. It calls us to restrain and to refute the latent instincts
for superiority and exclusivity which distort the witness in faith and
render it incomprehensible to others. Most of all it calls us to allow
God to bind us together and to lead us forward in truth and in love, in
forgiveness of each other and in recognition of a shared future. In God
truth and love are the same thing; the invitation is that they be
equally so in us.

It has been a great pleasure and an equal
privilege to journey in some small way with you in the period between
one diocesan bishop and the next. For my part I should like to thank
personally all of those who are known to you yourselves over a long
period and have become well known to me as dear friends in our shared
work in a short time. I think of both Karen and David Seaman who
contribute so much to the life of these United Dioceses. I think of
Leslie Stevenson your archdeacon who has borne a heavy care and concern
in so many ways, along now with personal bereavement, over the year
past. I think of John Clarke who has been a willing Commissary and
Gerald Field who stepped into this role for a brief period during the
summer past. I think also of the people and clergy who have sustained
the life of home, parish and community day by day and week by week. I
consider it a great honour to preside over your Diocesan Synod today
here in Wilson’s Hospital.

Interesting and fruitful times lie
ahead of you and I wish you everything that is best as you embrace those
days, under the service and leadership of your bishop, with confidence
and with joy.

1 John 3.2: Dear friends, we are now God’s
children; what we shall be has not yet been disclosed, but we know that
when Christ appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he
is.

Bishop Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst of Limburg has been cleared of
wrongdoing by the Vatican, after priests and lay Catholics accused him
of personal extravagance and a lack of accountability.

Stephan Schnelle, Limburg diocesan spokesman, said that, for the
bishop, “obtaining the loyalty of priests and lay Catholics will be a
big problem. … but the bishop has gone through a rough time and seems
quite delighted with this outcome”.Mr Schnelle said the bishop was subject to a campaign of “lies” that
started with comparisons between him and his predecessor.

The spokesman
told the American Catholic News Service that most Catholics in the
diocese now hoped for a “positive end” to the controversy.The 53-year-old bishop, appointed in November 2007, was accused of
exorbitant spending on a diocesan centre and episcopal residence when
other church premises were being closed in a structural reform.In June Germany’s Der Spiegel weekly said the complex, whose
estimated cost has tripled to around 15 million euros (£12.5 million),
resembled a “monstrous luxury complex”.The weekly also accused Bishop Tebartz-van Elst, who chairs the
German bishops’ marriage and family commission, of submitting a false
affidavit after flying first-class for a January 2012 visit to slums in
India. Prosecutors are investigating the incident.A former Vatican nuncio, Cardinal Giovanni Lajolo, visited the
diocese earlier this month.

In a statement, the two said all bills and
records for the diocesan complex would be checked and disclosed by a
bishops’ conference commission, specially convened by Bishop Tebartz-van
Elst.Speaking at the close of an autumn plenary meeting in Fulda,
Archbishop Robert Zollitsch, the bishops’ conference president,
expressed support for Bishop Tebartz-van Elst, adding that he counted on
Limburg Diocese to find a “forward-looking approach” to its problems.

“Peace
and joy” are the true signs of God’s presence in the Church – not
perfection in its organization and planning.

That’s what Pope Francis
told the faithful gathered early Monday for the private daily mass in
the Vatican guest house Santa Marta.

The
disciples were enthusiastic, making plans for the future and discussing
how the new-born Church should be organized. They debated who was the
greatest amongst them and restricted to themselves the number of people
wishing to do good in Jesus’ name. But Jesus, explains the Pope,
surprises them – turning the focus of the discussion from “organization”
to “children:” “He in fact, who is the smallest among all of you…is
great!”Drawing on the reading from the Prophet Zecharia, the
Pope spoke in his homily of the signs of God’s presence: not in “fine
organization” nor in “ a government that moves ahead, all clean and
perfect,” but in the elderly sitting in the squares and in children
playing .“The future of a people is right here…in the elderly
and in the children,” he said. “A people who does not take care of the
elderly and children has no future because it will have no memory and it
will have no promise! The elderly and children are the future of a
people!”Pope Francis warned that it is all too easy to shoo a
child away or make them calm down with a candy or a game – or to tune
out the elderly and ignore their advice with the excuse that “they’re
old, poor people.”And the disciples didn’t understand this either, stressed the Pope.“The
disciples wanted efficacy; they wanted the Church to go forward without
problems and this can become a temptation for the Church: the Church of
functionalism! The well-organized Church! Everything in its place, but
without memory and without promise! This Church, in this way, cannot
move ahead. It will be the Church of the fight for power; it will be
the Church of jealousies between the baptized and many other things that
occur when there is no memory and no promise.”The “vitality of
the Church,” then, does not come through documents and planning
meetings- these are necessary, yes, but they are not “the sign of God’s
presence.”“The sign of God’s presence is this, so says the Lord:
‘Old men and old women will sit again in the squares of Jerusalem, each
with a cane in hand for their age. And the squares of the city will
swarm with young boys and girls playing…Playing makes us think of joy:
it is the Lord’s joy. And these elderly people sitting with a cane in
hand, calm: they make us think of peace. Peace and joy. This is the air
of the Church!”

The Archdiocese of New York has removed a deacon from the church over allegations that he abused minors.

Albert Mazza was removed from the Holy Name of Mary Parish in
Croton-on-Hudson, NY., after an investigation by police revealed that
there was evidence he had allegedly abused minors, according to a
statement from church officials.

The announcement was made by Archbishop of New York Timothy Dolan
in a letter to the parishioners of Mazza's church.

The letter was read
during Sunday mass by Father Edward Weber, the director of priest
personnel for the Archdiocese of New York.

According to Dolan's letter, an investigation by the Westchester
district attorney found credible evidence of abuse, but prosecutors were
"precluded by state law" from bringing charges.

Dolan said charges were made against Mazza that he had "engaged in immoral and illegal conduct with minors" many years ago.

Calls made to a number listed to Albert Mazza were not immediately successful.

Mazza has been a permanent deacon at the parish since 1996.

"As you know, the Church learned a painful lesson in not communicating
the abuse of minors to the faithful as soon as it became aware of it,"
wrote Dolan. "Now, the Church leads the way with action and
transparency, with this sad situation here at this parish serving as an
example."

Dolan came under fire in 2012 after it was revealed that his old
diocese, the archdiocese of Milwaukee, had paid individual sums of
$20,000 to priests accused of molesting children while under his
leadership.

The church put Mazza on administrative leave immediately after it
received the victim's complaint.

According to Dolan, two other priests
from the same parish have been removed due to allegations that they had
abused minors previously.

A mayor in northern Mexico says heavy rains caused a half-built
church in a suburb of Monterrey to collapse during Mass, killing a
10-year-old boy and injuring 24 church goers.Juarez
Mayor Rodolfo Ambriz says the injured were taken to local hospitals
where the severity of the wounds is still unclear.

The boy died on his
way to the hospital.The Roman Catholic Church of
Santa Clara de Asis was under construction and a tarp had been put up as
a roof.

Authorities say a cold front brought heavy rains to the
northern state of Nuevo Leon that apparently brought down the tarp
Sunday morning and the concrete structure with it.

History was made in the Archdiocese of Armagh
yesterday when the Primate of All Ireland ordained the first five
Catholics to become permanent deacons in the ancient see of St Patrick.

Welcoming the five men, all married with children, into the ministry, Archbishop of Armagh Cardinal Sean Brady described it as an occasion of "great joy".

Addressing
700 family members, priests and the Coadjutor Archbishop of Armagh, Dr
Eamon Martin, described the five as bridge builders between the laity,
priests and bishops.

He told them that as married fathers and grandfathers "you will continue as ordained men to make a living in the world".

Archbishop
Martin said they were in a "unique position" as "a particular point of
contact with the lay faithful in your workplaces and in the community".

Juggling
full-time jobs, families and their ministry will be demanding, the five
acknowledged, but they have been told that their first priority is
their wives and families, second is their work to support their families
and third is their ministry as deacons.

One deacon, 46-year-old
John Taaffe from Drogheda, has three children ranging in age from nine
to 21, and he is also grandfather to one-year-old Jordan.

He said that he had re-found his faith in 1999 after being a non-practising Catholic for years.He
currently works as the co-ordinator of the Irish Bishops' Drug
Initiative. He became an addiction counsellor after his conversion and
sold his sales and marketing business to pursue this dream.

The
first ever permanent deacons, who are either lay single or married men,
to be ordained by the Irish church began ministry in the archdiocese of
Dublin in 2011.

Martin Barlow (45) from the Parish of Drumcree in
Portadown is married to Ursula, and has two sons, Shea who starts
university next week and Oisin who is in secondary school.

Although
drawn to the priesthood while at school, he opted to go to art college
and trained as a graphic designer. Marriage followed. Then in 2006, he
experienced "a renewal of faith".

"I made a promise to God that I
would no longer be a Sunday Catholic but I didn't realise that it would
lead to ministry seven years later," he said.

The five deacons, who include care worker Benignus Ndubuisi from Dundalk, begin their ministry after four years of study.

FACTFILE

Armagh's
new Catholic deacons will be referred to as 'Rev Mr' and they will
serve on a part-time basis in their appointed parishes, assisting with
baptisms and funerals at the weekends and some administrative duties
during the week.

Deacons cannot celebrate Mass or hear confessions.

All five men had to obtain the permission of their wives to go ahead with their studies for ministry.

The age of
globalization is making communication possible even in the most remote parts of
the world, but it is also important "to use modern technologies and social
networks in such a way as to reveal a presence that listens, converses and
encourages."

It is with these words that the Pontifical Council for Social
Communications announces the theme chosen by Pope Francis for
the World Day of Social Communications in 2014, "Communication at the service of an
authentic culture of encounter".

The Holy Father's
message for World Communications Day is traditionally published in conjunction
with the Memorial of St. Francis de Sales, patron of writers (January 24).

Below the full text of the communiqué.

The
capacity to communicate is at the heart of what it means to be human. It is in
and through our communication that we are able to meet and encounter at a
meaningful level other people, express who we are, what we think and believe,
how we wish to live and, perhaps more importantly, to come to know those with
whom we are called to live. Such communication calls for honesty, mutual
respect and a commitment to learn from each other.It requires
a capacity to know how to dialogue respectfully with the truth of others. It is
often what might be perceived initially as 'difference' in the other that
reveals the richness of our humanity. It is the discovery of the other that
enables us to learn the truth of who we are ourselves. In our modern era, a new
culture is developing advanced by technology, and communication is in a sense
"amplified" and "continuous". We are called to "rediscover, through the
means of social communication as well as by personal contact, the beauty that
is at the heart of our existence and journey, the beauty of faith and of the
beauty of the encounter with Christ."

(Address of Pope Francis to
participants at the Plenary Assembly of the Pontifical Council for Social
Communications, 21 September 2013).

In this context, each one of us should
accept the challenge to be authentic by witnessing to values, Christian
identity, cultural experiences, expressed with a new language and shared with
others.

Our ability
to communicate, reflected in our participation in the creative, communicative
and unifying Trinitarian Love, is a gift which allows us to grow in personal
relationships, which are a blessing in our lives, and to find in dialogue a
response to those divisions that create tensions within communities and between
nations.

The age of globalization is making communication possible even in the
most remote parts of the world, but it is also important "to use modern
technologies and social networks in such a way as to reveal a presence that
listens, converses and encourages."

(Address of Pope Francis to participants at
the Plenary Assembly of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, 21 September
2013), so that nobody is excluded.The Message
for World Communications Day 2014 will explore the potential of communication,
especially in a networked and connected world, to bring people closer to each other
and to co-operate in the task of building a more just world.

World
Communications Day, the only worldwide celebration called for by the Second Vatican
Council ("Inter Mirifica", 1963), is celebrated in most countries, on
the recommendation of the bishops of the world, on the Sunday before Pentecost
(June 1st in 2014).

The Holy Father's message for World Communications Day is
traditionally published in conjunction with the Memorial of St. Francis de
Sales, patron of writers (January 24).

With a Chirograph , Pope Francis has
officially established the Council of Cardinals , whose members were announced
13 April and which has the task of helping the Pope in governing the Church and
in the revision of the Apostolic Constitution Pastor Bonus on the Roman
Curia.

The
number of components may vary "as deemed appropriate".

The
group "will be a further expression of Episcopal communion and auxiliary service
to munus petrinum that the Bishops scattered around the world can offer."

Below is the full text of
the Chirograph.

Among
the suggestions that emerged during the course of the General Congregations of Cardinals prior to the Conclave,
was the convenience in instituting a small group of Members of the Episcopate,
from different parts of the world, that the Holy Father could consult with,
either individually or collectively, on particular issues . Once
elected to the Roman See , I had occasion to reflect often on this subject ,
believing that such an initiative would be of considerable help in carrying out
the pastoral ministry of the Successor of Peter, with which I was entrusted by my
brother Cardinals.

For this reason, on 13 April I announced
the establishment of the aforementioned group , indicating, at the same time ,
the names of those who had been called to become part of it. Now,
after mature reflection , I consider it opportune, through this Chirograph, to officially
instituted as a " Council of Cardinals ' , whose task is to help in the
government of the universal Church and to study a draft revision of the
Apostolic Constitution Pastor bonus on the Roman
Curia.

It
will be composed of the same persons mentioned above and may be consulted, both
individually and as a Council , on matters I feel worthy of attention . Said
Council, the number of components of which I reserve the right to configure as
deemed adequate, will be a further expression of Episcopal communion and auxiliary
service that the Bishops around the world can offer to munus petrinum.
Rome,
at Saint Peter's, September 28th of 2013 , the first of my Pontificate.
FRANCIS

The average age of gay couples entering civil
partnerships was more than a decade older than the average age of
heterosexual couples marrying , figures released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) for 2011 haves shown.

The
figures released today are the first detailed statistics relating to
the 2011 introduction of civil partnerships for gay couples in Ireland.

Ceremonies began in April of that year.

It
shows the average age of partners in the 536 couples entering civil
partnership was 44.3, (44.7 for men and 43.8 for women).

This compares
with 34.6 years for a groom entering marriage and 32.5 years for bride.

The average age of marrying couples has continued to increase and in 2011 rose by half a year since 2010.

The
CSO figures show that the number of marriages has continued to fall and
reached the lowest level since 1998 to 4.3 per 1,000 of the population.
There were 19,855 marriages registered in 2011 and 20,594 in 2010.

Of the 536 civil partnership ceremonies held in 2011, 335 were male unions and 2011 were female unions the figures show.

Over 70 per cent of couples who entered civil partnerships in 2011 lived in Leinster.

Of the couples living in Leinster a third lived in Dublin city, almost a
fifth in the greater Dublin area.

Outside of the capital, Cork had the
highest number of civil partnerships in 2011 (6 per cent).

Just one
civil partnership was registered in each of North Tipperary and Monaghan.

Over
95 per cent of civil partners were previously single with 4 per cent
divorced and others widowed.The figures show a 1 to 4 year difference in
ages in a third of male partnerships and in 43 per cent of female
partnerships.

In
heterosexual marriages in 2011 the couples joined by civil ceremony
tended to be older than those going through a Roman Catholic
ceremony.

In civil marriages the average age of the groom and bride
were 37.9 years / 35 years respectively compared with 33.1 years/31.3
years respectively for the average age of a Roman Catholic groom and
bridge.

In 2011, civil marriages were the most
common form of marriage ceremony for grooms aged 45 (69 per cent) and
for brides aged 40 and over (67per cent).

In Dublin almost 43 per cent
of couples had civil marriages compared with just a fifth in the border
region.

The proportion of different types of
marriage ceremony remained broadly similar in 2011 with two thirds Roman
Catholic, 29 per cent civil marriages .

The
figures also showed a continued decline in the number of divorces
registered with the courts, which fell by almost a tenth (9 per cent)
since 2010.

A ROMAN Catholic cardinal has said that a group of
senior church figures handpicked by the Pope to shake up the Vatican's
murky and autocratic bureaucracy would "rip up and rewrite" the
constitution which apportions power at the Holy See.

The eight cardinals, who were appointed by Pope Francis in April,
have been briefed to revise the constitution, known as Pastor Bonus and
drawn up in 1988 by Pope John Paul, in a bid to give greater voice to
bishops around the world.

Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga, the
group's leader, said that at tomorrow's meeting they would go much
further than just change "this and that".

"No, that constitution
is over," he said in a television interview. "Now, it is something
different. We need to write something different," he added.

The
suggestion of drastic reforms to the Vatican's constitution follows
several reformist comments by the Pope. He has said it was not up to him
to "judge" homosexuals and that atheism and agnoticism are tolerable if
people retain a good consience.

Gerard O'Connell, a Vatican
analyst, said that the proposed rule changes were a "rupture after a
century of increasing centralisation".

"Cardinal Maradiaga is
hinting that the Pope is asking the fundamental question: 'What can be
decided in Rome and what at local level? How can the Roman Curia serve
bishops instead of being an office of censure and control?'"

Mr
O'Connell cited Japanese bishops as examples of victims of the Vatican's
centralisation.

"They must ask advice from Rome on the correct Japanese
to use in their liturgies, yet you would think they would be the best
judge."

Over the weekend, Pope Francis gave another clear
indication that he sees the Vatican as a hotbed of intrigue and power
struggles when he suggested Vatican policemen should crack down on
gossip as well as looking out for intruders.

Defining gossip as
the devil's work, "a forbidden language" and "a war waged with the
tongue", he told gendarmes gathered for Mass to tell any gossipers:
"Here, there can be none of that: walk out of St Anne's Gate. Go outside
and talk there!"

Cardinals gathering in Rome before Pope Francis
was elected in March complained that Vatican officials had become a
self-serving elite indifferent to the needs of dioceses worldwide.

Cardinal
Rodriguez Maradiaga said his group had received suggestions on Vatican
reform from around the world, including 80 pages of suggestions from Latin America.

The
convergence on a few main themes suggested God's will was at work, he
said. "You cannot have millions of Catholics in the world suggesting the
same unless the Holy Spirit is inspiring."

The country’s largest homeless charity has warned the sector can not take any further funding cuts in the upcoming budget.

Simon
Communities say cuts signalled by the Department of the Environment in
last year’s budget turned out to be far worse than expected.

While a
central budget cut of 3.3% to homeless services was announced, the
charity says when filtered down to local level, this turned out to be as
high as 12% in the Midlands, 8% in Cork, and 7% elsewhere.

Head of policy Niamh Randall said the problem was exacerbated by the
fact that charities were only being notified of the scale of the
regional cuts now.

“We’re talking about 2013 funding, but it’s September, so be told at
this stage that there’s even less money than anyone thought and to have
to make those savings in the last three or four months of the year is
very difficult.”

Ms Randall said funding from the HSE, the other main source of finance for the homeless sector, had fallen 20% since 2010.

“What we really need from this year’s budget is for funding to be
restored to, at the very least, 2012 levels. Anything less and it’s
going to impact very badly on our ability to continue providing
services.”

The cuts come as Simon Communities, an affiliation of nine regional
Simon services, faces increasing demands on its support network. Up to
5,000 individuals and families are helped by the communities every year,
but Dublin Simon last week reported an 88% increase in rough sleepers
over the past year.

In its pre-budget submission published today, Simon Communities urges
caution in regard to the rent supplement for people on social welfare in
private rented accommodation. They say the supplement is not keeping
pace with increasing rents and warn against any further increase in the
minimum contribution recipients have to make to their rent.

They also call for a speeding up of the transfer of Nama-managed properties to the social housing sector.

Simon Communities supports the Government’s target of eliminating
homelessness by 2016 and says it remains achievable but only if a
concerted effort is made.

The charity is running a series of awareness events this week, including
it’s Home For Good campaign which includes an online petition for
members of the public.

Pope
Francis on Monday addressed participants of the International Meeting
for Peace in the spirit of Assisi organised by the Rome-based Community
of Saint Egidio.

The meeting, held from September 29 to
October 1 sees the participation of religious leaders of all
denominations and of men and women who are committed to building peace
in the world.In his address, the Pope referred to the theme
of this year’s event which is “The Courage to Hope” and noted that it
follows in the steps of the historic 1986 meeting in Assisi that the
Blessed John Paul II convened, inviting religious leaders of different
Churches to pray together for peace. And he thanked the St. Egidio
Community for continuing in this path, increasing the momentum, engaging
in and promoting meaningful dialogue between personalities and
representatives of all religions and secular humanists.And
the Pope pointed out that in the past few months it has become evident
that the world needs the "spirit" that sparked that historic meeting.
He said “we must never resign ourselves to the pain of entire peoples
who are hostages of war, poverty, exploitation. We must not stand by
helpless and indifferent before the tragedy of children, families and
elderly people who are affected by violence. We can not allow terrorism
to imprison the heart of a few violent people and to sow so much death
and pain. Let us all say out loud, without interruption, that there can
be no religious justification for violence; in whatever way it manifests
itself. As Pope Benedict XVI pointed out two years ago, on the 25th
anniversary of the Assisi meeting, all forms of religiously motivated
violence must be stamped out, and together we must make sure the world
does not fall prey to that violence that is contained in every project
of civilization which is based on a "no" to God”.“As leaders
of the different religions we can do much. Peace is everyone's
responsibility. Praying for peace, working for peace! A religious leader
is always a man of peace, because the commandment of peace is inscribed
in the depths of the religious traditions we represent. But what can we
do?”This meeting – the Pope said - suggests the way to go: “the courage of dialogue which gives hope”.

In
the world, in society – he continued - there is little peace also
because there is no dialogue, it is hard to look beyond the narrow
horizon of one’s own interests and be open to a true and sincere
exchange. Peace - he said – needs a dialogue that is tenacious, patient,
strong and intelligent. Dialogue can win over war. Thanks to dialogue
people of different generations, who often ignore each other, can live
together; just as citizens from different ethnic backgrounds and
different beliefs can live together if there is dialogue. Dialogue is
the way of peace. Because dialogue encourages understanding, harmony
and peace. That’s why dialogue must grow and spread among people of
every condition and conviction, like a network of peace that protects
the world and the most vulnerable.Pope Francis concluded his
message calling on religious leaders to be true “partners in dialogue".
To be active in building peace, not as intermediaries, but as
authentic mediators. “Intermediaries” – he said - “seek to grant
discounts to all parties in order to obtain gains for themselves.
Mediators are the ones who keep nothing for themselves, but expend
themselves generously, in the knowledge that the only true gain is that
of peace”. Each of us – he said - is called to be an artisan of peace,
uniting and not dividing, extinguishing - not conserving - hatred,
opening the paths of dialogue, not erecting new walls! And he urged them
to “talk and meet to establish the culture of dialogue, the culture of
encounter, in the world”.Finally the Pope remembered the
legacy of that first Assisi meeting that continues to be nurtured year
after year thanks also to the work of the Saint. Egidio community. He
said it shows how dialogue is intimately linked to prayer. “Dialogue and
prayer grow or perish together”. And he recalled that Pope Paul VI
spoke of "the transcendent origin of dialogue" saying: "Religion is by
nature a relationship between God and man. Prayer expresses this
relationship through dialogue" (Encyclical Ecclesiam suam , 72) . “Continue
to pray for the peace of the world, in Syria, in the Middle East, in
many countries of the world. May this courage of peace give the courage
of hope to the world, to all those who suffer in war, to young people
who look with concern to their future. Almighty God, who listens to our
prayers, support us in this journey of peace.

Popes John Paul II and John XXIII will be declared saints on April 27th next year.

Pope Francis announced the date during a meeting with cardinals inside the Apostolic Palace today.

Francis
announced in July that he would canonise two of the 20th century’s most
influential popes together, approving a miracle attributed to John
Paul’s intercession and bending Vatican rules by deciding that John XXIII did not need one.

Analysts have said the decision to canonise
them together was aimed at unifying the church since each has his own
admirers and critics.

In July, Francis approved a
second miracle attributed to John Paul, opening the way to the fastest
canonisation in modern times.

He also approved
sainthood for John, who reigned from 1958 to 1963 and who oversaw
sweeping reforms to modernise the Church, even though he has only been
credited with one miracle since his death.

Francis
is clearly a fan of both: on the anniversary of John Paul’s death this
year, he prayed at the tombs of both men — an indication that he sees a
great personal and spiritual continuity in them.

“We will be joining the Pope in Assisi and praying
with him at St. Francis’ tomb,” Vatican City Governor, Cardinal
Giuseppe Bertello said, confirming his attendance on the papal trip.

Bertello is the only Curia member among the group of eight cardinals the
Pope appointed to advise him on Curia reform and church government.

The
group will be holding their first meeting in the Vatican at the
beginning of October and Francis had also wanted him to join him on the
papal trip to the “Poverello’s” city.The group will go to the “city of peace” on 4 October, as Vatican Insider reported on 26 April.
Some of the members of the “council of peace” are currently in Rome for
the plenary sessions being held by their respective congregations.

The
group of eight cardinals who will meet in the Vatican on 1, 2 and 3
October was set up to advise the Pope and not to take decisions, Vatican
spokesman Fr. Federico Lombardi stressed.

He added that other meetings
would follow after this initial meeting and that participants were
expected to respect the confidentiality of the consultations.
At 1pm on Monday, the director of the Holy See
Press Office will give a briefing on the Pope’s meeting with the group
of eight cardinals, with information regarding the nature of the
meeting, the preparation work around it and the time frame.

The “G8’s”
members are: Cardinal Giuseppe Bertello of Italy, President of the
Government of the Vatican City State; Cardinal Francisco Javier
Errázuriz Ossa of Chile, the retired archbishop of Santiago; Cardinal
Oswald Gracias of India, archbishop of Bombay and President of the
Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences; Reinhard Marx, the Archbishop
of Munich and Freising (Germany); Laurent Monswengo Pasinya,
Archbishop of Kinshasa (Democratic Republic of Congo); Sean Patrick
O’Malley, Archbishop of Boston (U.S.); George Pell, Archbishop of Sydney
(Australia) and Oscar Andrés Rodríguez Maradiaga of Honduras, the
archbishop of Tegucigalpa and coordinator of Fransis’ advisory council.
There is a great deal of suspense ahead of the
council’s work so the Curia has warned the public to hold their horses:
“This is the first of a series of meetings. Don’t expect everything all
at once.”

“Is it unthinkable to supplement their work with a secular agency that is completely outside the church orbit?” Jesuit historian of Christianity John O’Malley asks in an article published in Italian news magazine Il Regno. According to O’Malley, “such an agency is much more likely to ask questions that do not even occur to church members.”

O’Malley pointed out two issues that should be born in mind regarding
“the reform of the Curia towards greater collegiality” (one of the
issues that has aroused many expectations in the first months of
Francis’ pontificate): First is the fact that men and women today do not
easily accept the idea that what they perceive to be a distant and
faceless elite body can claim the right to tell them what to think and
how to behave. Second, there isthe
difficulty today of finding a theological justification for the
Curia—or, put more concretely, there is the difficulty of finding a
theologically credible connection between Peter the simple fisherman of
Galilee and Peter, prince of the apostles, heading a large bureaucratic
central office.”Some of the areas that need to be remedied
according to the American Jesuit and Professor at Georgetown University,
Washington, include: the “lack of communication among the congregations,
tribunals, secretariats and other offices within the Curia”; “the
process of recruiting the personnel of the Curia, which sometimes seems
to function more as a system of patronage than a system based on merit—a
long-standing problem in the Curia.”; “a mechanism needs to be devised
to ensure that the heads of the different bureaus are held accountable
for fulfilling their duties.”

O’Malley recalled that the doctrine on
collegiality became the lightening rod of the Council. No other doctrine
met more unrelenting opposition,” seeing as though “its
enemies grasped its radical character and implications.” In the end,
the ratified the doctrine, but only after “a higher authority” attached a
“preliminary note” (notapraevia) to
the “Dogmatic Constitution on the Church” (1964).” Collegiality,
O’Malley pointed out “holds immense implications for the Curia” because
it “means the Curia should operate not as a set
of agencies in charge of the church but as agencies that serve lower
agencies by helping them do what they are supposed to do.” The Secretary
is the Bishop of Albano, Mgr. Marcello Semeraro, who was Special
Secretary at the 2001 Synod.

First and foremost, the group must advise the Pope on
the “government of the universal Church”; second, it must “study a
project of revision of the Apostolic Constitution “Pastor Bonus” on the
Roman Curia”. This was promulgated by John Paul II on 28 June 1988 and
split the Curia into five main sections: the Secretariat of State, whose
central and pre-eminent role has given other Vatican circles many a
bellyache; the Congregations; the ecclesiastical Tribunals; the
Pontifical Councils and offices and bodies.

There have been 3 major
reforms in the Roman Curia over the past 110 years: Pius X’s “Sapienti Consilio” (1908) which adjusted the structures of the Curia to the disappearance of the Pontifical State in 1870; Paul VI’s “Regimini Ecclesiae Universae” (1967) which adjusted it to the Second Vatican Council and John Paul II’s “Pastor Bonus” (1988) which adjusted the Curia according to the Code of Canon Law of 1984.